Where I've Been, What I've Seen
by Dream-Flutist
Summary: Naruto is thrown back in time as a result of two clashing chakra. Now, all he wants to do is fly under the radar, but Naruto always manages to make things more difficult than they need to be. ***On Haitus***
1. Being Hokage

**If I owned Naruto, I'd have killed Sasuke, made Naruto Hokage already, and brought Minato and Kushina back from the dead. I make no profit other than my own joy when it comes to these things. Yeah... Simply, Naruto isn't mine and never will be.****  
**

Being Hokage

Chapter one

Naruto sighed and looked out the Hokage tower window. The golds, pinks and purples were blending together in an artistic array, signifying that the day was almost over. He felt a kage-bunshin disperse and quickly filed through the memories.

_'Let's see… An expansion to the Academy… Granted. Specialization classes… On hold until there is enough staff. More medical supplies… Granted.'_

Another kage-bunshin dispersed.

_'Genin Team Seven sent on first C-rank mission. Genin Team Nine is after Tora II- Serves them right. A Chūnin team consisting of Sora Akimichi, Tadao Inuzuka, and Mai Ko sent on a B-rank mission. '_

If someone had told Naruto that being Hokage meant all that paperwork… He would probably say he'd use kage-bunshin to do it. When Tsunade figured out what he was doing she went hysterical. She couldn't figure out why she hadn't thought of that!

More kage-bunshin dispersed. Naruto was beginning to get a headache. Oh well.

Suddenly, the doors to his office banged open with no warning and revealed an irate Iruka dragging a group of Academy students behind him.

"What now?" Naruto asked, amused. These particular students were in his office almost every day.

"They un-did all the screws on my chair! Then, they dumped banana peels on Gina-Sensei! After that, they skipped class!"

"Now… That's all? You couldn't have just given them detention?"

"This is the fourth time this week, Hokage-sama!" Iruka explained.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do…" Naruto gave the group a calculating look. They grinned. "You can leave, Iruka."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" With that, Iruka left the office, grumbling about how un-fair teaching was and how he didn't get paid enough.

"So, what, couldn't think of anything more original? I must've done that one a million times!" Naruto exclaimed once Iruka was clear of the premises. The students sweat-dropped.

No one could say they didn't have a one-of-a-kind, unpredictable Hokage.

* * *

After the students had been dealt with, Naruto headed home. He had a headache from his clones dispersing and he was sore from sitting all day. He couldn't wait to get home and eat diner… by himself.

Once again he realized how lonely he was. All of the original Konoha Eleven had found a spouse. He was the only one left who had no one to go home to. In fact, some of his friends even had kids. The group he had dealt with in his office were Kiba and Hinata's, Chōji and Ino's, and Shikamaru and Temari's kids. Hell, even Sakura and Lee got together, and Shino had married and had a couple of kids with someone in his clan. Sai, too, had found a wife with some comrade.

Talk about depressing.

The next day he woke early to train. When he was done (when his ANBU had started to threaten him), he headed to the Hokage Tower. It wasn't a long way there, but the walk had been enjoyable while it lasted. In fact, that was about as enjoyable as his day went. No more than two hours after getting to the tower, some ANBU reported that, on a simple scouting mission, they'd spotted none other than Sasuke Uchiha making his way towards Konoha.

The alarm was given immediately.

* * *

Sasuke grinned manically. Today was the day he would destroy Konoha and prove once and for all that the Uchiha are the best.

But first, to kill the Hokage!

Now, Sasuke had been in isolated training for the past eight years with no outside contact. He had no idea who was Hokage at this point. But he knew he could beat them, whoever they were. Unless it was Naruto… But dead-last would never be able to be _Hokage_! The dobe can't do anything, why make him Hokage?

He arrived at the gates and wasn't surprised to see them shut tight. He heard no sound from inside. The villagers were evacuated. He smirked arrogantly. Some wooden doors wouldn't keep him out! With a simple katon justu, the gates were up in flames and Sasuke Uchiha was in Konoha. Once again, there was no one around.

Sasuke made his way to the Hokage tower. He could see a figure standing on top, staring at him. _'Now, who will I be facing? Is it Tsunade? Or maybe Neji? Perhaps Shikamaru or, Kami-forbid, Kakashi?'_

Sasuke's smirk quikly turned into a frown when he realized that it was exactly who he believed it wouldn't be—

"UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

* * *

Both young men were panting. The battle was hard, and neither Sasuke nor Naruto could get the advantage. Sasuke might not have known it at the begining, but Naruto was at a huge advantage. He had four ways to revitalize his chakra— three sage mode kage-bunshin and his controlled jinchūriki form. Unfortunately, he had used up all his chances at sage mode and was in the jinchūriki form. But even that was starting to waver. They needed to finish this, and _now._

They looked each other in the eye. It was time. Sasuke charged up a large raiton jutsu that vaguely resemble Kakashi's Chidori. Naruto summoned some clones and made his strongest jutsu— Rasenshuriken hyped up by the demonic chakra that was his jinchūriki form.

The men sprinted at each other, aiming their respective jutsu.

They clashed.

The resulting explosion was felt in Suna. The resulting scream went unnoticed.

* * *

**And this chapter is over. Sorry if its a little short... Its three thirty in the morning. **

**Also, go to my profile and vote on how far back Naruto should go. But he is going back far enough so that he isn't born yet.**

**Please review. It makes me feel appreciated.**


	2. He's Gone

**Yippee! Chapter two. All right, now there really is a poll up on my profile. I need votes or I'm just going to decide what to do on my own. If you want a say on how far Naruto goes back and how old he is, please,_ please_ vote!  
I don't own Naruto, and I never will. I make no profit what-so-ever from this.**

He's Gone

Chapter two

People inside the Hokage monument were nervous. The explosions had stopped long ago, but they had no idea if it was safe to come out. Eventually, even the ANBU, who were _extremely_ unhappy with their Kage's decision to fight alone, grew restless.

One ANBU slipped out of the entrance. He was shocked by the havoc that had been wrought on the village. _'But,'_ the man noticed,_ 'it could've been a heck of a lot worse. Like after Pein's attack…'_

The ANBU—whose mask was that of a bird—carefully checked the village for any signs of life. He found none, other than Sasuke's dead body in the middle of a huge crater. He vaguely wondered if this was the site of the explosion that felt like an earthquake.

Bird quickly sealed the body away and headed back to the safe-house. The all-clear was sounded. His superiors asked if he'd seen the Hokage or any trace of him. Bird told the truth.

"The only traces were his Hiraishin kunai and the devastation from his battle."

* * *

Sakura sat atop the Naruto's head on the Hokage monument, watching the sun set._ 'Three days,'_ the obviously worried girl thought,_ 'three days since Naruto disappeared. Three days until he is declared KIA. Naruto, please, please come back. Please, we all need you. We need our Hokage back!'_

She felt someone behind her and turned to see Lee, her husband, looking at her like a lost puppy. She waved him over and he complied, sitting down next to her.

"Do you think he's alive? Will he come back?"

"Sakura-chan, Hokage-sama is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. His youthfulness is much too strong to have been killed by Sasuke. He is our Hokage. Believe in him more!"

Sakura smacked Lee on the head.

"I hope so, Lee. I hope so…"

* * *

Tenten threw another kunai and five more shuriken. They hit their targets dead-on and went through, a scary thing. _'You baka! Where are you? Konoha needs you more than whatever crusade you went on this time! And you know a heck of a lot better than to leave those kunai sitting around! What the heck is up? Baka baka baka!'_

"Tenten, destroying the targets isn't going to help. Come to bed. You're scaring Takeshi."

"Neji, where'd he go? He knows better than to leave those kunai sitting around. He was OCD about making sure he always picked them up after we spared, and now he just leaves them while he goes on some magical adventure when Konoha needs him? Something's not right here!"

"While I do agree with you, I can tell you're about to fall over from exhaustion. Come get some sleep before we start doing missions."

"Fine, but just for the record, I'm not happy about it!"

Neji just snorted.

* * *

Ino sighed. She couldn't get this darn bouquet to look right! _'Naruto, you clumsy fool, where'd you go? You're not this stupid, are you? Did we make a mistake in making you Hokage? Show us we were right and get back here!'_

"God darn it! Where is he?" And, with a frustrated shout Ino hurled the vase of flowers at the wall. It hit the wall and shattered with a loud crash. She could here Chōji running to the room. She collapsed to the floor with her head held in her hands, sobbing. "Darn it, Naruto!"

"Ino, I think you should head to bed. I'll make some tea to calm you nerves."

Ino nodded and shakily rose to her feet. She wandered to the bedroom. She wouldn't sleep for awhile…

* * *

Hinata stared at the picture in front of her numbly. He couldn't be gone. No! She refused to believe it! He was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the Hokage, for Kami's-sake! Her tears started to flow again.

"Babe, calm down. He might be Hokage, but he's also Naruto. We have no idea if this is just a really bad prank!"

Hinata just cried more.

First, Naruto was just a crush, but they quickly figured out that they just weren't meant for each other. But, she still loved him, so now, it was like losing her brother.

Kiba sighed. He had a long night ahead.

* * *

Konohamaru stared at a picture.

In the picture there were three boys and a girl. They were all dressed up as a different Hokage. The tallest and obviously oldest boy in the picture was dressed as the Yondaime Hokage, village savior.

The eldest boy needed little for the costume. Konohamaru was still unclear as to how Naruto had gotten his hands on suck a realistic cloak, let alone the kunai. Not for the first time, Konohamaru wondered about his 'Boss'. _'Naruto-nee-sama, you can't be gone yet. You have too many secrets you haven't told me, and you've taught me so few jutsu. You'll come back, right Boss?'_

Konohamaru felt tears slip down his cheeks. He paid no mind and continued to look at the boy in the picture.

* * *

Kakashi sat at the memorial stone, deep in thought. He held one of Naruto's kunai in his hands. Again, he tried to activate it.

The seal on the kunai hummed, but nothing happened.

_'Naruto, if you're dead, be sure to say 'Hi' to everyone for me. Then play a prank on us from heaven, or wherever people like you go… Because we sure as heck need it.'_

_

* * *

_

**Yay! Chapter close. Yes, it was just a little filler sort of thing, but no one has voted yet. I probably will give the poll to the end of the week. If no one votes by then than I get to go free-for-all and you have no say in what direction this story takes for that part of the plot.  
Oh, can someone tell me what's the difference between visitors and hits?**

**Please review! They make my day!  
(LOL. The scroll bar at the side of the screen is all screwy. That was random... I should just go now...)**


	3. Double Take

**Well, new chapter. I'm 'sposed to be asleep now, apearently... Anywho, I've been asked for longer chapters, so this is my attempt at doing just that... Even though it seems like it has been stretched out too far. Oh well, beggars can't be chosers.**

**I don't own Naruto. Simple, no?**

************This chapter has been edited**************

**

* * *

**

Double Take

Chapter Three

* * *

Naruto groaned. He was… Floating? He instantly recognized the feeling of being in water and not getting wet. He was in his mindscape.

_**"Baka! Get over here, you imbecile! What did you do? Are you trying to get killed?"**_

_'Uh-oh, sounds like the fur ball is upset about something. Better go check it out.'_ Naruto sighed and quickly stood up and made his way towards the sealed-off section of his mind that was the Kyūbi's cage.

"What do you want, baka fox?"

**"You imbecile human! What was that? Did you intend to get us killed?"**

"Actually, no. Why?"

**"Because you just about did! If I wasn't in this cage…"** Kyūbi roared angrily. **"Demon chakra and lighting chakra **_**do not mix! **_**With all your studies, you didn't know that? You baka!"**

Naruto regarded the giant fox with something akin to curiosity. "What's that supposed to mean?"

**"Exactly what I said! Demon chakra and lightning chakra have explosive results when forced together! You're lucky you have me!"**

"Lucky, no. So, let me get this straight; Demon chakra and lightning equals explosion."

**"Equals **_**huge**_** explosion. And not just that, baka, it's been known to rip **_**time! **__**Do you realize how serious this is! You've ripped the space-time continuum! Baka!"**_ The fox continued belittling him. Naruto just stood there, trying to figure out exactly what he just did.

"So," Naruto interrupted the giant beast, "there's a possibility that I've jumped through time?"

**"Not just a**_** possibility**_**, you**_** have**_**!" **The kitsune's roar echoed off around them. **"And I have **_**no idea where we are**_**! You've messed up everything! You'd better hope you've also skipped dimensions, or..." **

The Kyūbi continued ranting. Naruto was stunned. Every once in a while, the thought _'Maybe I can change the future…'_ would slip through his mind. But he had no way to know if he had gone forward or back in time until he went back into consciousness. He had the vague feeling that wouldn't happen for awhile. He paused his thinking when Kyūbi said something that caught his attention.

"What was that, damn fox?"

**"I said, your body's been changed too, baka! Your body's degenerated! Your consciousness is twenty-five, while your body has slipped back into being sixteen! Do you know how damaging that is for your health! You're lucky that I still have **_**some**_** power after that stunt you pulled back during the war!"**

_'Well,_' Naruto thought, _'it could've been a hell of a lot worse.'_

* * *

Minato sighed. What now? He'd just gotten a full team, and now the Hokage wanted him. He'd planned on getting acquainted with his sla—students. But Minato wasn't one to disobey the Hokage himself, so now here he was, headed quickly towards the Hokage tower.

When he arrived, he was surprised. Something was off. There were almost twenty more ANBU than there normally were. Something was _seriously _off.

Minato walked quickly up the stairs that lead to the Hokage's office. He immediately sensed five ANBU and… Jiraiya? Minato was about to knock on the door, but it was opened before he even finished bringing his fist up.

Jiraiya looked vaguely confused. "Come on in, kid. We've got something to talk about." The tone of his voice just added to Minato's suspicions.

As soon as the door was closed, Minato spoke. "What's wrong?"

The third Hokage looked wary. "This particular ANBU team found someone you might want to take a look at. Come, we're going to the hospital."

Minato was even more confused. What the heck was going on? He looked for Jiraiya for answers. He received none.

They were soon at the hospital. The ANBU lead the way to a room on the top floor, the floor reserved for people of unknown status. Soon, they were in front of a door guarded by two ANBU. Who was this person that the Hokage was so wary of?

They entered the room, and Minato froze. '_No way_.'

The boy laying in the hospital bed was pale, deathly so, but you could still see the resemblance. Bright blond hair, though it was dull with dirt and had a red-ish sheen to it that was easily recognized as blood. He was probably around the age of sixteen. He'd been in a fight to the death with someone. Something in Minato's subconscious shinobi mind wondered what type of enemy could cause this much damage. The boy was covered in blood-stained bandages. He was on a breathing tube. Minato wondered if the boy could have anymore needles stuck in him.

"ANBU, report!" Hiruzen Sarutobi barked out.

The bird-masked ANBU began to retell the story of how they found the boy in front of them.

"Sir! We were on a patrol. We were nearing the Valley of the End when we heard a large explosion and a scream. We immediately when to check it out. There was no damage to the area, but we found him. We immediately checked the area for enemies. We found none, so I split the group into two squads. Me, Neko, Nezumi, Shika and Uma brought him back while the rest of our squad continued on the patrol route, Sir!"

"Injuries on the boy were?" Hiruzen commanded.

"He was covered in cuts and bruises. His right arm was mangled. He had a severe case of chakra exhaustion. His most prominent injury was a hole through his chest which seemed to be made by a raiton jutsu."

A sudden coughing and gagging sound got their attention.

All occupants of the room redirected their attention from the ANBU towards the young man on the bed. He was awake and gagging on the tube down his throat. A nurse was quikly called in and the annoying apparatis was removed.

"Alright, now that you're up, tell us your name." The Third Hokage instructed.

"Aw… I don' want to." He coughed again.

"_Now." _

"Ne, ne, don't get pushy." The boy threw his arms behind his head and pouted. "Why should I?"

"Because you're a potential enemy and you're surrounded." The current Hokage pointed out. "And you'd be overpowered in two minutes."

"First of all, I wouldn't attack this village. I like it." He considered the people in the room, and then said, "And I could take you all down, even like this, in five minutes… With my eyes closed."

The occupants of the room were stunned. The boy had just announced that he could beat three of the top shinobi in Konoha without flinching. In fact, the way he said it sounded like he'd done it before.

"Oi! Wake up! Someone tell me what day it is?"

One of the ANBU quickly snapped out a date.

"Listen, gaki, give us _something_ to call you? Please?" Jiraiya sighed.

"Thank you. Hm… You can call me… Uzu Arashi."

"Alright, Uzu-san, what where you doing in Konoha's borders?"

"Old man, save the interrogation for the experts."

Sarutobi bristled. "I'll have you know—"

He was cut off by Jiraiya, "Sensei, he's just trying to get you upset."

Arashi was snickering again. "Oh, I love it! Kages are always so finicky about their age!" Soon, he burst into full-blown laughter- which ended in a storm of coughing.

The Hokage of this time motioned one if the ANBU. "Fetch me Iniochi Yamanaka and bring him here immediately."

This whole time, Minato just stood at the door, staring at the boy who wanted to be called Arashi. He figured it wasn't the kid's real name.

"Hey, why don't you tell us your real name?"

"Because... Actually, I just don't wan to tell you!"

Minato growled out "You're really in no condition to fight us, no matter what you say..."

"Ne…I'd rather not. But I would like to speak to the Hokage… Alone."

Said person waved the rest of the occupants of the room out. When they were all out in the hallway (Fighting every step of the way), Sarutobi asked, "What?"

"Activate the silencing seals."

The Hokage stared. What could be so important that the kid wanted silencing seals?

"I'd rather not."

"And I don't care. Activate them."

Sarutobi now noticed the boy's eyes. They looked like Kushina-chan's, except with Minato's deep blue. A vaguely disturbing thought struck him. _'Could this kid be from the future?' _Another thought_ 'He has a leader's eyes."_

"You gonna activate them, or do I have to?"

Sarutobi finally complied.

* * *

"Done?" 'Arashi' asked impatiently.

"Done." Sarutobi replied.

"All right, Old Man, what I'm gonna tell you doesn't leave this room without my consent, clear?"

The Third Hokage nodded.

"Okay, it seems that I've accidently thrown myself back in time. It wouldn't have happened if the damn fox had said something, but it has, and I apparently can't go back to my time. What happed was a freak accident, a clash of chakra, etcetera. Also, my body seems to have de-aged. I was twenty-five, now I'm sixteen." 'Arashi' paused, "Put your eyes back in your head, old man!" The adult-turned-teen cleared his throat. "Anyways, I'm from the Konoha of the future, and I'd appreciate being put back in the ranks, though I realize I won't get the position I was before, even half-way is fine."

Hiruzen sighed. "You ask a lot. I can't be sure you're telling the truth. It could be suicidal for the village to give you your demands. For all I know, you are a spy from Iwa." The Third Hokage thought. A (Obvious) question popped into mind. "Who exactly are you?"

"Me? Why, I..." Naruto paused, "Don't want to tell you." He smirked.

The Hokage twitched. "_Now!"_ He ordered.

"I told you, I'm Uzu Arashi. No more, no less."

"Fine. New question then." Sarutobi knew he'd get some strange answer from the kid. "Where are you from?"

"Hm... I'm from Konoha! Wouldn't live anywhere else!"

Hiruzen twitched. He _hated_ teens.

* * *

Minato sighed. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know, kid. Got a long lost brother?" Jiraiya asked.

Minato groaned.

Their conversation (If it could be called that) was cut off by Inoichi's arrival and the Hokage stepping out from the room. He gave an explanation to Inoichi, who headed into Arashi's room, and turned to Minato and Jiraiya.

"I gained little information. You two will follow me and we will wait for Inoichi's report in my office."

With that, they left the building and headed toward the Hokage tower.

* * *

"How might I be of service today, Yamanaka Inoichi?"

Said man was surprised (which of course he didn't show). The teen in front of him already knew him, and likely knew what was going on.

"I have been ordered to test your sanity, where your loyalties lie, and decide if your mental state is suited for being a shinobi of Konoha." Inoichi recited. "But," He added, "I'm confused as to _why _Hokage-sama would decide to see if you could be a shinobi."

"I suppose he has his own reasoning."

"Hai. Well, since you already seem to know me, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Ne, ne, nothing you won't learn in my head. Before you go in, I must warn you, I've been attacked by people like you since the day I was born. I know every trick in the book… And then some."

Inoichi gulped. These types were always the hardest to get into, and when he did get there, their minds would be broken beyond repair.

Inoichi hoped it wouldn't come to that. So, with a couple of hand signs, he was in the blond teen's mind.

* * *

Inoichi grunted and backed out of the kid's mind. The brat wasn't lying when he said he'd been attacked since he was young. Inoichi knew no one this kid's age with such a scary, hard to enter mind. And, not to mention, one with many memories and areas sealed away so well that only Jiraiya-sama and maybe Minato would be able to unseal— a scary prospect.

He'd learnt little. What he presumed the boy had given him— A name, Arashi Uzu, a birth date, October tenth, and an age, sixteen. _'But,'_ Inoichi thought_ 'I have the vaguest of feeling his mental age is that of someone about twenty, with an undertone of… three. He's definitely a shinobi, though. Damn, I haven't seen anyone with mental scarring that bad, even those unlucky civilians who end up seeing a shinobi death.'_

Inoichi shivered as he left the room. Something was up, big time.

* * *

"You three understand the seriousness of this matter, no?" The Hokage addressed the three men in front of him—Jiraiya, Minato, and Inoichi.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The three men chorused.

"Very well. Inoichi! Analysis of Arashi's mind!"

"Hai! His mind is, for lack of better description, a deathtrap. Worse than every Jōnin's mind I've ever had the pleasure of going into. A trap that pushed me back two steps every half step forward. I managed to get a little info, but I believe it is what he _gave_ me, and it's highly probable that it was false information."

"And what did you get?" Sarutobi asked.

"A name- Uzu Arashi; An age- sixteen; and a birth date- October tenth. No other information on who the heck this kid is… Though when I did manage to get into his mindscape, it was… indescribable. It was a sewer, making what he told me before I entered seem very much a possibility."

"What did he say to you, Inoichi? Direct quotes."

"Well, I asked him his name. He responded—quote—"Nothing you won't learn in my head. Before you go in, I must warn you, I've been attacked by people like you since the day I was born. I know every trick in the book, and then some."

They all wondered what type of person would attack a _child_ through his mind.

Inoichi proceeded. "His mental scarring was the worst I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Many of his memories were sealed away, most likely voluntary, and the seals… I didn't even attempt to unravel them. Only someone like Jiraiya-sama or Minato might be able to undo them. They gave me a headache just looking at them." Inoichi paused, letting the information sink in, then continued, "I… I found one memory that must've escaped his seals, or was too emotional to seal away. I think it was right before he was found." Inoichi paused.

"Are you going to tell us, or what?" Jiraiya demanded.

"It… He was being attacked. In the background… It was Konoha. I saw a future Konoha. The Hokage monument and all, thought there were three more faces… And there were ruins all around them… There was a battle of two Kage-level nin going on… It… Oh kami!" Inoichi broke down, choking on sobs. Konoha was utterly _destroyed_. It was ruins.

The other men were in shock. Inoichi didn't break down. He _didn't. _What had he seen to cause such a reaction?

"I've seen worse."

Everyone in the room jumped at the teen's voice.

'Arashi' stood in the doorway, the door closed behind him. It was well known that the Hokage's doors were noisy things when opening and closing, so how did 'Arashi' get in without even the Hokage noticing him?

Said man had somehow found some clothes. It was the standard shinobi outfit in Konoha, with one exception. He had on a black cloak with orange flames dancing at the bottom hem. It was tattered and torn and slightly burnt, but it was intact. Sarutobi was surprised.

"From what I heard, all your clothing was pretty much destroyed when they found you, Arashi-san."

"Seals." Came 'Arashi's' simple reply. Only the two shinobi in the room who specialized in fūin-jutsu understood the statement.

"What do you mean by 'Worse'?" Jiraiya questioned, growing suspicious.

"I've seen Konoha utterly wiped out. Thrice. Once when a man who named himself Pein attacked and again during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. I have to say, I think Pein's attack was worse. There was a huge crater in the middle of Konoha that reached all the way out to the walls. Though, what you saw was the last memory of before I came. But I killed the man who attacked us that time."

The four men in front of him stared. Then they noticed something. Not only was he still beat-up looking, he looked older than he was. He had not a sixteen-year-old's eyes, but that of a war-torn veteran of many wars and battles, hurt and betrayals.

Minato, Jiraiya, Sarutobi and a now recovered Inoichi couldn't help but believe him.

"Now I have another question for you—how'd you get in the office? Only the Hokage should be able to get past the silencing seals." Jiraiya shot at 'Arashi'.

"Jiraiya-sensei, what makes you think he's not a Hokage from the future? You told me once that seals are a strange thing, stretching through time and dimensions to determine if the person can enter." Minato pointed out. He received a withering glare from Jiraiya and a relieved look from 'Arashi'.

"I've never liked answering questions. Thanks." 'Arashi' stretched, then winced. "But... I won't tell you wether you're right or wrong. That's for me to know and you to never find out."

"Hokage-sama..."

All eyes turned to Inoichi.

"Yes?"

"I don't believe he's lying. I detect nothing."

Hiruzen just sighed.

* * *

**This chapter has been edited because of something pointed out by one of my reviewers. Thanks, piratepenguin666**

**D-F**


	4. The Unlucky TimeTraveler

**Yo! I'm back! Thank you, all my reviewers!  
**

I don't own Naruto. I make no profit from this writing.

_******* Really important! Chapter three was edited! Go back and re-read it, or you'll be totally confused. I edited a lot of things, and made the chapter longer.************_

* * *

Chapter Four

The Unlucky Time-Traveler

Hurizen sighed. Who did he believe? Jiraiya, who thinks the kid is an Iwa spy, or the kid himself, who said he wouldn't hurt the village, but wouldn't give a definite answer to _anything_. Inoichi seemed to deem the kid trustworthy—or at least no lying— and Minato seemed to be in some sort of state of shock. _'Oh, the joys of being Hokage.'_

"I must admit, I'm at a loss as to what to do with you, young man. I could not believe a word that you've told me, I could give you the benefit of the doubt, or I could believe everything. Each option has its pros and cons. So, what do you four think?"

"Well, if I were Hokage, I'd of done the same thing so far—a Yamanaka to figure out who I am, and call a meeting of trusted shinobi together to figure out what to do with me." Arashi paused, then continued, "From here, I'd send me to T&I, and, if worse comes to worse, find a Uchiha with amazing genjutsu abilities to sift through my mind."

The three others in the room stared incredulously at the boy whom just suggested his own punishment, and a harsh one at that.

"After that, I think I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. You'll be a civilian of Konoha. Everyone except Arashi-san may leave."

For once, the Hokage was glad his shinobi were obedient.

"Aw… I don't wanna be a civilian. I wanna be a shinobi!" Arashi whined in defiance.

"Do you always act like a five year old?"

"No, but I've been told I act like a two year old, though."

"I… Never mind that, anyways, you'll have to earn a place in the shinobi ranks. I'll set you up with an apartment and job; you have to prove yourself from there."

"Fine… But that job better not be too boring."

The Third Hokage had to resist the urge to hit his head on his desk. _'Why did I want to be Hokage again?' _Hiruzen shook his head slightly. "Come back in two hours."

* * *

_*****Note dimension change. We are now back to the world **_NARUTO_** came from.*****_

The remaining Konoha twelve plus the Jōnin sensei, the Konohamaru Corps, Tsunade, Iruka, and Ayame and Tuechi stood at the memorial stone. Konohamaru stepped forward, kneeled down and placed his hand on a newly-carved name.

"Hey, Boss, wherever you are, if you can hear me, you still haven't taught me Haraishin. What's up with that? You said you would, and you took the scroll with you! Damn it, you'd better prove us wrong." Konohamaru stood up and took a couple of steps away from the stone. Sakura replaced him.

"You baka," she said softly, "Where'd you go? You'd better pop up randomly at some point with an amazing explanation. If not, next time I see you, you'll be punched where it hurts. You and your damn crusades." In a smooth movement, she was up and standing next to Lee. Kakashi was the next to step forward.

"Wherever you are, know this, you did it—the impossible—all the time. You did what everyone said no one could do—you surpassed Sensei." He chuckled dryly. "And there's no way in hell that your parents wouldn't be proud. I hope, you'll get to meet them eventually. And why do I get the feeling you're doing something big? We all know you—_Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto_—wouldn't die by the likes of _Sasuke_."

A couple people started when Kakashi said 'Namikaze'. They still weren't used to it.

Tsunade stepped forward. "Hey, gaki, things are boring without you 'round here. Even the next generation isn't causing as much ruckus as you did. We're all proud of you. Kage at your age—unheard of."

This continued throughout the day. At dinner, they all went to Ichiraku, where Tuechi gave them ramen on the house, "In memory of Naruto-kun."

* * *

_*****Note dimension skip. We are back with **_NARUTO_**. *****_

_*****Note time skip. Ten hours since we last saw **_NARUTO_**. *****_

Naruto had gotten a small apartment. It wasn't too far away from the town center, and was fairly close to the Hokage Tower. For precautions, he'd figured.

Now, Naruto was asleep. In a dream, to be precise.

* * *

Naruto sat up. What was going on? He had been going to bed, fallen asleep, so did that mean this was some dream? He tried to place his surroundings. It seemed familiar… It was a totally white area, with no difference between ground and wall, up and down.

It struck him—It reminded him of the time during Pein's attack, when he met his father for the first time. Maybe it was the same place. He couldn't tell.

"Naruto, what did you do?" A masculine voice came from behind.

Naruto spun around. He was stunned by what, no, who he saw. "What's going on?" He asked

Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki-Namikaze Kushina were standing there, semi-transparent and obviously confused. "We're asking you that, Naruto. I remember helping you with the Kyūbi, then… I guess I'll call it Heaven." Kushina said.

"And I resealed the seal and went to Shinigami-sama's version of Hell."

"In regards to your question, I traveled back in time." Naruto said, standing up.

"And how did you manage that, gaki?" Another voice asked. Naruto whirled around again.

"Ero-sennin!"

And there was Jiraiya, ghostly and transparent, but there non-the-less.

"Why, it's just a regular reunion!" Yet another person Naruto turned to face. The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"I feel out of place. Me, an almost seven-hundred year old spirit surrounded by such young spirits. Oh, this'll be different."

Naruto couldn't place this voice, no matter how hard he tried. He turned to face the latest arrival. It was a man, taller than Naruto, not toweringly so, but enough to be slightly imposing. He had black hair that was swept backwards, two particular pieces sticking up a bit like ears in front. The mysterious figure's clothing was black and consisted of a cape with a high, standing up collar, a tight shirt and what seemed to be a normal shinobi's pants. A katana was strapped to his back and he held a staff in one hand. His most distinct features—eyes with a ripple-like pattern and a red, slightly glowing necklace.

"I'm going crazy!" Naruto yelled, grabbing his head and acting out a faint. He received many chuckles, and in Kushina's case, full blown laughter.

The group quickly sobered, though. Jiraiya was the first to resume talking. "Alright, kid. Start from where I… died."

"Oh…" Naruto took a deep breath. "I was sent to receive sage training. During that time, Nagato attacked. I arrived just after he used a jutsu called… Shinra Tensei." He noticed the unnamed man's eyes harden slightly. "It wiped out most of the village. That's when I arrived. I was in sage mode for most of the fight, and I fought the six bodies with the help of a bunch of summons. Eventually, they were all injured and went back, but not before getting rid of all but one body. I was trapped by chakra rods through various points in my body. That's when Hyūga Hinata jumped in. She fought, but was eventually unable to dodge a chakra rod. I lost control, thinking that she was dead."

Minato nodded. He'd be coming in soon.

"I don't remember much for awhile. I'm sure we fought, but I was easily at six tails. I eventually reached eight."

"And that's where I come in." Minato's voice rung out. "I stopped Naruto from unsealing the Kyūbi, we talked, and I redid the seal."

"Yeah…" Naruto shook himself. "I finished off the last body and went to find the real one. I intercepted a Konoha search group who were searching for Nagato. I convinced them to let me go alone. When I found him… He wasn't a pretty site… Anyways, we talked, and somehow I convinced him to leave the Akatsuki. He then used some super jutsu to revive everyone who'd died during the attack… including Kakashi-sensei. Um… The Kage called a Kage Summit, the first in many years. Danzō had taken over as temporary Hokage. I think he was there for a month at the most, before Sasuke-teme killed him. Sakura tried to take the teme on by herself, but Kakashi and I intervened.

"I decieded, then and there, when he attacked Sakura with the full intent to kill, that he was too far gone. I would save him the only other way I could think of—through death. Unfortunately, Uchiha Madara and Sasuke-teme retreated before we could really fight." He growled. "I told him we would die the same day. I don't know if this is considered dyeing… Whatever. Anyways, I went on a trip, which didn't just cause me to gain control of Kyūbi," He looked at his mother, "But during that time, the Fourth Great Shinobi War started. Tsunade-baa-chan tricked me into staying out of it, for awhile, that is. Eventually, Killer Bee and I had to join in. Between the two of us, we eventually killed Madara, not to mention that stupid jutsu Kabuto used—Impure World Resurrection, he had a lot of those—and ended the war. A couple of years later Tsunade gave me the Hokage hat. It's been peaceful for awhile. All the Kage's are friends. We usually got along. Sasuke had disappeared after the war. He recently attacked Konoha, and he was killed. I took his heart out with a Kyūbi-boosted Rasenshuiruken. Too bad the kitsune-baka didn't tell me that demon chakra and lightening chakra don't mix well."

A slow clapping came from the still unnamed man. "Peace is hard to make, and harder to maintain." He explained.

"Okay, can I _please_ know why the hell you're all here?" Naruto requested loudly.

"To be honest, I don't know." Minato said. "You said you traveled back in time. When did you travel back to?"

Naruto laughed. "You're not Hokage yet. You just go your genin team."

"That might explain Kushina and me. I left both of our chakra imprinted on the seal, so us being alive might have automatically activated it."

"Makes sense. But how about you three?" Naruto said to Jiraiya, Sarutobi and the _still _unnamed man.

"I have no clue." The Third Hokage replied.

"Ditto." Jiraiya concluded.

"I know why. Kami-sama said something about making sure you don't do anything stupid." His eyes seemed to be laughing, or at least merry. "And I get to see what has become of the demons once I split them. Oh, I wonder if Kyūbi will remember me."

"Okay, wait, so I know who they are," Naruto motioned to Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya and Hiruzen, "But I don't know who you are!" He pointed to the strange-eyed man.

"From what I understand, a Kage is the head of one of the five great shinobi villages. You can't figure it out?"

Naruto thought. He considered what the man had said so far, and thought about if anyone in his time had eyes like him. _'Let's see, he has the Rinnengan, a staff, has said that he's over seven hundred, split the beasts… The Rinnengan! Nagato had that! What did he say about it? Its original owner was the Sage of Six Paths. Jiraiya said something about him… Oh yeah, wasn't the Sage the first shinobi and jinchūriki?'_ Realization dawned on Naruto. "You're the Sage of Six Paths!"

"Very good! I take it my name hasn't been as durable as my title." He received a nod from everyone present. "Good, I don't remember it either." Again, his eyes were laughing.

"Nani! How could you, like, not remember your, like, own name?" Kushina asked.

"It, like, hasn't been used in, like, seven-hundred years." The spirit said, imitating Kushina's verbal tick.

All the other men in the room paled. No one teased Kushina like that unless they were Minato, _no one. _

Naruto was glad when he started to wake up. The only one who noticed his departure was Minato, who smiled at Naruto.

* * *

Naruto blinked awake. It wasn't quite day yet, he noticed. _'Danm, I feel like I haven't slept at all.'_

_"Being in your mindscape a whole night will do that, Naru-kun." _Naruto looked desperately around for the voice… Until he realized that it was his mother talking.

"What the hell?"

_"Try thinking it. Might wanna get used to us listening in on your thoughts, by the way." _A perverted giggle followed this, followed by a shout of "Itai!" Naruto would bet his life his mother had whacked Jiraiya over the head.

_"Sheesh, she's violent."_ The Sage said.

_'Hey, Sage-y dude, since you can't remember your real name, do me a favor and give me something to call you.'_

_"Oh. Hm… how about Ryu?"_

_'Yeah, whatever, you have to be called it.'_

_"You fail to see the meaning behind the name."_

_'No, I see it; it's just that most jinchūriki would rather not be known as what they contained.'_

_"Good point."_

Naruto stopped listening at this point and quickly got dressed in some clothes and ate. He waited for the chūnin who was to escort him to his new job. They arrived shortly.

And so he was lead to his new future by a scowling Uchiha and a stoic Hyūga.

* * *

**And done! Note to you guys- the next chapter might, I repeat, _MIGHT _be a time skip. I'm thinking it will, but don't count on it.**

**Hey, Hanukkah started yesterday! Happy Hanukkah! ...Even though I don't celebrate it.**

**Hm... I feel like I'm missing something... Oh, yeah! **

Reviews? Please?


	5. A New Jōnin

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Sorry this took so long to come out. I had writer's block. I knew where I wanted to go, but I couldn't figure out how to get there.

**Anyways, I hope my chapter is satasfactory.**

***I don't own Naruto, but this storyline is all me!**

* * *

A New Jōnin

Chapter Five

* * *

Naruto sat up and yawned, awaken by his internal alarm clock… erm, I mean, by his friends in his head.

He easily slipped into a routine he'd been doing for two years now—shower, get dressed, brush teeth, eat.

"_ANBU are here."_

'_Thanks, Dad.'_

"_No problem."_

Naruto opened the front door, now awake from his still-asleep stupor. Two ANBU, Bird and Inu, stood in the small hallway. The ANBU had long ago learned not to randomly pop up on Naruto.

"The Hokage requests your presence." Bird said in a monotone.

"I'll be there in a minute." He shut the door in their faces. He thought he heard an indignant squawk from Inu.

"_I heard it too." _Jiraiya said.

They all shared a laugh at the young ANBU's expense.

Naruto quickly finished his breakfast a slipped out the window, headed toward the Hokage office.

"_The ANBU are still there."_ Ryu chuckled. The rest joined in.

Many a shinobi wondered if the young man— who couldn't be more than sixteen— was sane.

* * *

"Are you serious? You want me of all people to join Konoha's ranks as a jōnin? You still don't know if you can trust me! And how do you know I'm strong enough?"

"Yes, I'm serious, yes, I want you to join, no, I don't know if I can trust you, and you've given the ANBU the slip more than once, Arashi. That takes skill."

"Did you say that all in one breath?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Naruto slipped into his 'Arashi' persona, going from goof-ball to suspicious in barely two seconds. "Why?"

"Truth be told," The Third Hokage said, "We need help. You're help."

Naruto snorted. _'What do you think I should do?'_

"_Take it, but don't take a genin team. Ever." _Minato said.

The other 'little voices' agreed.

"Fine, no genin teams, though."

"Deal."

"When do I get started?" Naruto smirked. He was ready for a good mission.

"Right now. Your first mission is to assist Team Minato on its first war mission."

"_Naruto, ask who it's with, me or Kakashi."_

'_Okay.'_ Naruto pretended to consider the mission for a minute. "I understand that Kakashi-san was recently promoted to Jōnin status. Will there be two mission groups, or will it be one group with three Jōnin?"

"No, Kakashi will be leading his own team consisting of the Chūnin Uchiha Obito and Chūnin orphan Rin. You would be assisting Minato on back-up for some Konoha shinobi fighting Iwa forces. You will be traveling with Kakashi's team for a designated distance before you will split to finish your respective missions. Do you accept?"

"…_Accept it, but be careful."_

"I'll accept. Is there anything I must do or know before we depart?"

The third Hokage blinked. _'We? Does he mean the group, or is he talking about himself?' _The Hokage filed the information away for later. "You are to report to T&I for a mental evaluation after I dismiss you. They'll be expecting someone. If you are deemed fit, then you will be leaving tomorrow at oh-six-hundred. Understood?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded to add emphasis.

"Good; Dismissed."

Naruto shunshined out of the office, his destination already set.

* * *

A young woman stuck her head into a thick-walled cell. "Inoichi-sempai, there is a shinobi here for mental evaluation. He says the Hokage said you were expecting him."

"Yes, I'm coming." Inoichi growled. Some people had no timing. Oh well, he'd have to finish this interrogation later. He left the small cell, screams from the resident echoing behind him.

Naruto sat on a hard plastic chair. His eyes where glossy and he was obviously not there.

_"This could be bad. There isn't much we can do if Inoichi gets past your defenses." _Jiraiya worried.

_"If he does get past, we'll have to have a reasonable excuse as to why we're here. Quick! Everyone think of ideas!" _

_"…"_

"_Kushina, why don't we just tell the truth?" _Minato asked.

"_Ah, but then there's the question as to what the truth is."_ The inhabitants of Naruto's head looked towards Ryu. They were sitting in a circle in the blank white space. Minato, Kushina, or the Sage would disappear sometimes, presumably navigating Naruto's mindscape, but they were usually all there in the blank whiteness.

'_What do you mean by that?' _Naruto questioned.

"_Why are we here? Why are you here? We don't know. You don't know. So what is the truth?"_ Ryu explained.

"_True."_ Minato agreed. _"Then why don't we just explain the situation? We won't be believed, but at least we know we can't be proven wrong."_

"_I guess that works."_ Kushina reluctantly agreed. She, personally, thought that some super-extravagant set up would be best, but she'd go along for now.

"Uzu Arashi. Why are you here?" Inoichi questioned the young man. Inoichi didn't expect a response; the boy looked like he was in his own little world. He was slightly surprised (not that he'd ever show it) when the boy didn't hesitate to respond.

"Waiting for my mental evaluation." The fog had cleared out of Arashi's eyes almost instantly.

Inoichi raised an eyebrow, but went along with it. The Hokage would only do what he thought was right, and apparently he thought this was right. _'So the Hokage is making a possibly spy a Jōnin? That doesn't make sense…'_ Inoichi mentally shook his head. "Follow me."

Inoichi sighed at the irony of the situation. The first time he'd met the boy, he'd been checking to get information on who the kid was. Now, he was trying to find out if the kid was suited to be a shinobi.

Inoichi doubted that the boy wasn't a shinobi.

The boy obviously hadn't tried to hide his training. His movements where precise and calculated to a point where no movement was spared, each and every twitch of a muscle was for some purpose of another. It sort of reminded the Yamanaka of Minato; the boy's looks didn't help any, either.

'_And then there's the mysterious fact that this boy hasn't aged a day in two years.'_

Inoichi stepped into the cold, metal room, Arashi trailing behind.

"Sit." Inoichi commanded, gesturing to the cold steel chair in the middle of the room, obviously this room was primarily an interrogation room.

Arashi complied, elegantly sitting in the chair, an almost lost look in his eyes. Inoichi quickly told the boy what would happen.

"I will use a clan jutsu to scan your mind and see if you're strong enough to be a shinobi. If you pass that, you will be held for mock-interrogation. Any questions?"

"No. Please continue." The boy sounded almost… serene. A little like Minato, too. If Inoichi hadn't known better, this could be Minato as a sixteen year old.

He didn't know how right he was.

* * *

'_Naruto, you oughta let us out like this more often; it's very freeing.'_

"_Dream on, Dad."_

Naruto had let his dad take control of his body; it was a trick they'd learnt about a year after arrival. Each of the inhabitants could do it, but Naruto's appearance changed a little for each person: His hair being a bit red when Kushina took over, a slightly wrinkled face came with the Third Hokage, Naruto sported Jiraiya's tattoos when said pervert took over, amazingly the Sage of Six Path's rinnengan came with Ryu, and Naruto's hair lengthened when Minato was in control. Which is why Minato got control most often.

'_Yup.'_

"_Let me back, I want this test to be truthful."_

'…_Fine.'_

The persons switched places when Inoichi's back was turned. Said interrogator noted to himself the slight shortening of hair when he turned back to the kid. _'Interesting.' _Inoichi cleared his throat. With no warning, he initiated the jutsu. He thought he heard an echo-y voice say,

"Don't get lost!"

* * *

**_***Note- timeskip. Four hours since we last saw _**NARUTO**_.***_**

Inoichi grunted. He'd finally made it through the kid's mental barriers— after three hours. Now he was in Arashi's mind, trying to see how much information could be gathered if an enemy was to get into his head.

Right off the bat, he faced a dilemma.

Six corridors branched off from the circular room that he stood in, shin-deep in intangible, dirty water. One corridor continued this motif.

Inoichi assumed the path directly in front of him was north. To his north east was a shadowed tunnel covered in seals that reminded the Yamanaka of Minato's mind, to his north west was a brightly colored and randomly patterned flight of stairs. _'That one looks like the Uzumaki's 'scape.'_

To his east was a carpeted hallway with large, dark bookshelves lining both sides. His west was a mud path, rain pouring down. _'They remind me of Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama.'_

The southern corridor tricked him the most. It was a forest. Simply a forest.

Inoichi decided to take the northern corridor.

* * *

Two steps into the sewer-like corridor, a trap activated.

Mental traps where always tricky to navigate and find, at least in shinobi. Inoichi didn't know there even was a trap until a kunai _whooshed _past him.

He took a vague note in his own head that the kunai had three prongs and what looked to be seals on them before he commenced dodging the many projectiles.

* * *

By the end of the Jutsu, Inoichi wasn't any closer to finding who the kid was— other than a very skilled shinobi. A few things were for sure, though. One; Uzu Arashi was a very skilled shinobi. Two; Uzu Arashi very likely has dissociative identity disorder.

Well, onto the mock-interrotation.

* * *

_*****Note dimension change. In the dimension**__ NARUTO __**came from.*****_

"It's ironic, isn't it? They both died by something that monster of a man created." Tsunade commented.

Kakashi grimaced. "And technically by the hands of an Uchiha."

"True." Tsunade stared out at the village from atop the giant monument. The village hidden in the leaves was once again whole and barely undamaged. There was a new name carved onto the memorial stone's but no one believed him dead. They would find him, one way or another. "Do you think he's happy wherever he is?"

"Naruto can't be happy unless his precious people are fine." Kakashi replied, totally sure of his reply. "Who knows? Maybe he's gone back in time!"

"That would be a very Naruto thing to do. He isn't Konoha's number one unpredictable shinobi for nothing." Tsunade sighed. "Maybe you're right, gaki, Maybe you're right..."

* * *

_*****Note- back in the dimension **_NARUTO_** came from. *****_

_*****Note- Time skip. Four hours since we last saw **_

'_Does this kid even feel pain?'_ Inoichi didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted. _'Who gives a kid enough training that he can withstand four hours of strait torture?' _Inoichi grimaced as the mock-torture session continued.

"Inoichi, he's got a mission tomorrow. You are done." The Hokage stood next to the unsettled Yamanaka.

Inoichi called the interrogator in the room out. "The interrogation is over. Clean him up."

"Hai!" The young man hurried to do as ordered.

"Hokage-sama, who trains a kid to be able to withstand that much consecutive torture?" Inoichi quietly asked the man standing next to him.

"I don't know. A monster, maybe?"

"I'll go make sure the kid's okay."

"Hmm… Yes, do that."

'_Who is this kid?'_

* * *

'_Naru-chan, you should let you mother out more often. Your mind is so boring!'_

"_It's Naruto. I'll look crazy if you guys come out too much. I think Inoichi is already onto us."_

'_Whatever.' _Kushina pouted, but gave control back to Naruto.

'_Thanks.'_

The slight change in Naruto's hair color was unnoticed. There was too much blood coating it.

* * *

**So... Review? Please?**


	6. On a Mission

**I know, I know, I just jupdated. But I"m just that great, ya know? Actually, I was really motevated. I'm going to Cirque De Soliel tomorrow, so expect something for Circus Shinobi soon.**

**On another note, thank you, al my wonderful reviewers and everyone who has added this stoy to alerts, faves and so forth. I am so happy! I never thought anyone would like my writing so much, and it was a plesant surprise when you all did.**

**I don't own Naruto. (Do I have to keep saying this or is it obvious by now?)**

* * *

On a Mission

Chapter Six

* * *

Minato stood at the northern gates. He was waiting for the rest of his team and this new Jōnin. He hadn't been given any info on him, except that he was only recently promoted. _'Joy. Two new Jōnin. This isn't my day.'_

Five minutes later, Kakashi decided to show up.

Ten minutes until departure time.

Rin showed up five minutes later.

Five minutes until departure.

* * *

_'Damn it! I'm going to be late!'_

_"Did you pick up any habits from 'Kashi-kun?" _

_'No, Dad! Now where're my kunai?'_

_"Next to your bed, like always, Naru-chan."_

_'Naruto, Mom. Thanks!' _Naruto grabbed said pack of kunai a fled out his apartment door.

Two minutes until departure.

* * *

The new Jōnin arrived one minute before it was time to leave.

'_Isn't that the kid that showed up randomly two years ago?' _Indeed, it was. _'So he managed to gain Hokage-sama's trust? If he was promoted to Jōnin he must have had some sort of training prior to his arrival here, enough so that he can be a Jōnin level. Why?' _Minato took notice of the boy's hardly-changed looks. '_He hasn't aged a day! Why is that?'_

"He he… Sorry. I overslept a bit…" The new arrival was grinning sheepishly. One of his hands was rubbing the back of his head; the other was in one of the many pockets of his flak vest.

"That's okay. Obito will be late, anyways." The young, brown-haired girl chuckled. "I'm Rin. The guy in the mask is Hatake Kakashi. Blondie's Minato-sensei and Uchiha Obito's going to be late, as per usual."

Rin didn't notice it, but Kakashi and Minato did. The young man tensed when he heard 'Uchiha', but by the time 'Obito' came along, he was relaxed again.

'_Another piece of the puzzle that is Uzu Arashi.' _Minato thought.

Kakashi's reaction was a bit (a lot) different. '_It's another Obito. But he doesn't like the name 'Uchiha'. Did an Uchiha wrong him in some way? And why does he look and act like Minato-sensei?'_

"Well, I'm Uzu Arashi; Promoted to Jōnin last night." Arashi's voice was cheerful, but there was something behind it.

'_Nostalgia, maybe?'_ Minato thought.

"Hey! Here comes Obito!" A new voice shouted. A black-haired, orange-goggle-wearing mass came flying towards the gate. The mass was stopped by Arashi, who it almost collided with. Arashi had grabbed an arm and stopped the missile-like boy. "Sorry about that! I'm Obito! Who're you?"

"I'm Uzu Arashi; Pleased to meet you, Obito-san!" Arashi smiled.

'_It's fake.' _Minato realized with a start. '_He's not pleased to meet Obito at all. No,' _Minato put some pieces together, _'It's the Uchiha part that he doesn't like. He's been wronged by someone in the Uchiha clan…'_

"Can we go now? We've got a mission." The young Kakashi, who'd been silent up until now, asked.

"Yup!" Obito replied cheerily. "Wait, what's the mission again?"

Minato sighed. '_That's Obito…'_ Internally shaking his head, he commenced the explanation of the mission. "You, Kakashi, and Rin will be going to Kannabi Bridge, and are to detonate explosives to destroy the bridge. Kakashi, being a Jōnin, is in charge. Uzu-san and I are assisting some shinobi that are on the front lines. We will travel together for a while, but eventually we'll split up."

"Oh, okay. Let's go, then!"

* * *

'_I'm. So. Bored.' _Naruto commented to the mentalities in his head.

"_Get over it, gaki." _Jiraiya snapped at Naruto.

'_Sheesh. Don't be so harsh.'_

"_Why don't you fall to the back and I'll take control so you can take a nap or something." _Minato suggested to his son.

'_You just had to, didn't you?'_

"_Hey, we get bored in here." _Minato excused.

'_Whatever. Let me answer any questions that come our way though, got it?'_

"_Ne, ne, just do it already!"_

Naruto carefully maneuvered to the back of the group.

Minato of the real world noticed immediately. _'I still don't trust him. What's he doing?' _He watched Arashi out of the corner of his eye. Something was off. The elder Jōnin thanked Kami for the fact he could keep control of himself when the boy's hair lengthened slightly. _'What was that?' _Minato checked for other differences. _'His walk is different from before. And those tattoos on his face have faded a bit.'_

* * *

'_Damn it, he noticed.' _Minato thought.

"_He like, won't say anything though, will he, Mina-kun." _Kushina teased Minato.

'_Mina-kun is girly!' _Minato complained. _'Why do you torture me so?'_

"'_Cause I'm your wife. Get over it." _

Minato just snorted quietly. _'Of course, Kushi-tan.'_

"_Hey!" _Kushina squawked._ "I'm, like, Kushina! Don't call me that!"_

'_I'm your husband, get over it.' _

"_If you two would stop bickering, I'm trying to rest!" _

'_Yes, Naru-chan.'_

"_Of course, Naru-kun."_

"_You have five seconds to run."_

Kushina blinked. _"Wha?"_

"_Five."_

"_What's going to happen if I don't?"_

"_Four."_

"_Com' on, Naruto! Tell me!"_

"_Three."_

'_Kushi-chan, I think you might want to run…'_

"_Two…"_

"_Why?"_

"_One!" _With that, Naruto snapped up from his position lying on the white blankness. He lunged at Kushina, who finally decided to take her men's advice. She took off running, Naruto close on her heals.

"_You three are cute."_

'_Gee, thanks sensei.'_ Was Minato's sarcastic response.

"_What? You are!"_

* * *

Kakashi was on high alert, but he was well-trained enough to be able to contemplate on things while he walked. The unbelievably slow pace was boring him and the two other Jōnin, but the two Chūnin didn't have the stamina to run even part of the way.

'_Who is Uzu Arashi? I've never seen him around the village, and I know all of the Jōnin and Chūnin in Konoha, so where did he come from? Well, what information do I have about him? For one, he looks like a sixteen-year-old Sensei; two, he was probably wronged by some Uchiha at some point; three, he was promoted to Jōnin last night; for, he popped up out of nowhere; and five, Sensei is wary of him. Also, Sensei seemed surprised when he showed up, maybe something about the way he looks? I'll ask Sensei later…' _Kakashi, with his mind made up, kept walking, but took note when the newest member of the team fell to the back of the group. _'What's he doing?' _Kakashi glanced at Minato. _'Sensei noticed, too.' _Staying on high alert, he noticed immediately when Arashi's walk changed. _'He's walking different. Maybe he has more than one personality? No, he wouldn't be cleared for duty if he did. So, did his alertness change? This walk is much more guarded, more like… Sensei's walk! He's walking like Sensei!'_

Kakashi's eyes hardened in determination. He'd ask his sensei about Uzu Arashi when they stopped for camp. In the meantime, he kept up his guard.

* * *

Inoichi made his way to the Hokage tower to give his formal report on Uzu Arashi's mental status. Last night he had cleared the boy for active duty, now he'd give his explanation. The Yamanaka honestly had no idea how the Hokage would react to the assessment.

Inoichi paused before entering the tower.

His wait was short, and he was soon ushered into the Hokage's office.

"Inoichi, what is your assessment of Uzu Arashi?" The elder man asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Hokage-sama, as in my first mental assessment of Uzu Arashi, his mind was hard to get into. It took me hours to bypass his mental barriers. When I got there, I discovered something startling." Inoichi paused to collect his thoughts.

"Continue at your own pace, Inoichi. As I remember, last time you were very disturbed after his mental check."

"Arigato, Hokage-sama." Inoichi said quietly. He continued in a stronger voice, "When I finally got into his mind, I arrived in a circular, sewer-like room. I assumed I was facing north. There were six paths total. I took the northern one." Inoichi paused again, remembering the traps that had activated. "The traps were even worse this time around. Hokage-sama, I only got two steps into his mind. I couldn't get any farther. But the trap that kept me occupied… It used Haraishin kunai. One fact of mind traps is that you can't use any weapons or jutsu that you don't know; meaning he knows Haraishin."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was at a loss for words. _'I know Minato didn't teach this jutsu to anyone, especially Uzu Arashi. So how did he learn it? I'll consult Jiraiya, then I'll ask Minato when he gets back.' _The third Hokage sighed. "So it's true…" He muttered.

"If I may, Hokage-sama; what's true?" Inoichi asked, hesitantly.

"The first day he was in the village, do you remember everything he said?"

"H-hai!" Inoichi stuttered. He didn't particularly want to relive that day.

"Everything he's said, everything he's done, what does it point to?"

The question caught Inoichi off-guard. He reviewed the facts in his mind. The answer wasn't satisfactory, so he did it again. And again. And once again. He got the same answer each time. "Do… Do you think Uzu Arashi is from the future, Hokage-sama?"

"He told me that when I talked to him alone. I think I believe him now." The old man was beginning to feel worn out. "Now the questions are—

"Who is he? How is he in the past? And how will he alter the future?"

The two men didn't believe their questions would be answered anytime soon.

* * *

_***** Note- dimension change. Now in the world **_NARUTO_** came from. *****_

Sakura watched her new Genin team. They bore an uncomfortable resemblance to her own childhood Genin team.

There was Hyūga Takeshi, the cold one who had girls practically throwing themselves at him.

There was Hayashi Hanako, the book-smart fan girl with a civilian family. She had a crush on Takeshi, but it, thankfully, wasn't as bad as Sakura's crush on Sasuke.

Then there was Morimotou Hiraku, the dead-last and black sheep of the village. The prankster. The Jōnin sometimes referred to him as the second Naruto.

Sakura never had, and never would.

* * *

_*****Note- Seven hours later. *****_

"Sakura, did you just not pass them because they reminded you of your own Genin team?" Tsunade questioned the woman in front of her.

Sakura's voice remained even. "They did not use teamwork. They tried to sabotage each others' attempts at getting the bells. I suggest the be returned to the Academy."

The Godaime Hokage let out a stressed breath. "Sakura, be at the hospital at oh-six-thirty. Be ready for a full shift. Dissmissed."

The pink-haired konoichi shunshined out of the Hokage office. _'If Naruto were here, would she have done the same thing? Hell, would they've done the same thing?'_

The elderly woman was once again reminded of the bright, blond, missing shinobi that was Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto.

'_Damn it, I need some sakē…'_

* * *

Kakashi stared at the monument, deep in thought. He was well-aware that he was almost three hours late to the reunion, but it could wait.

"Kakashi-sensei? You're going to catch a cold."

Kakashi made no move that showed he had heard the pink-haired woman's words, but Sakura didn't need him to move to know he had heard.

"Kaka-sensei, do you think he's ever going to come back?"

"He's Naruto, you never know…" Kakashi moved over so Sakura could sit next to him.

"Could you show me their names?" Sakura asked quietly.

Kakashi didn't seem to hear her for a moment, but two minutes later, he raised his hand and pointed to Naruto's name on the slab of stone, then slowly dragged his fingers to the fourth Hokage's name. From there, his rain-slicked fingers went to a girl's name with no last name. "Rin…" The man said quietly. "She was a little like you— Had a crush on me until the end. Died in the Kyūbi attack, protesting to Sensei all the way…" His voice was slightly shaky. Sakura couldn't blame him.

The silver haired Jōnin's fingers found their names to one last name, and Uchiha. "Uchiha Obito… He was the black sheep of the clan. He was a lot like Naruto…" Kakashi paused for a second. "He died the first day I was a Jōnin. I was in charge of the mission; Sensei had gone to help some shinobi on the front lines… Rin, Obito and I ran into some Iwa Jōnin on the way to our destination. They captured Rin…" Sakura thought she heard a sob come from Kakashi, but she didn't say anything. "I wanted to finish the mission… I was a jerk back then… Remember the line I told you during the bell test?"

"_In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum._" The two recited together.

"Obito told me that. That's what convinced me to come after him to help save Rin. There was a fight… Obito ended up crushed by a boulder. Rin… Rin was a medic nin. Obito knew he was a goner. He… He gave me his Sharingan… It was a gift… He never told Rin that he loved her…" Kakashi hung his head. Sakura, not knowing what to do, simply put her arm around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to bring up bad memories…" She whispered.

Straitening up, Kakashi smiled slightly at her. "I think I needed to get that off my shoulders. Sensei always complained about me not talking to anyone about it." Kakashi thought for a moment, then said, "Hey, Sakura, ever thought about being a shinobi counselor? You'd be good at it!"

The two laughed, both silently wishing that it was Naruto cracking the jokes and not Kakahsi.

* * *

**Gah! Done! I think this is one of the longest ones yet!**

**Anyway, for those who don't know, '-tan' is like a baby-talk version of '-chan'. It pisses off Kushina.**

**Once again, I love reviews!**


	7. The Kindling to Curiosity

**Yeah, I'm back, after how long?... Anyways, life got in the way of past time, and school is overcontroling and medicine is lowsy. So, I got distracted and stuck for awhile. That's why this chapter is so short. So... Yeah. It's currently for thirty in the morning, so you'd better be happy...**

**Naruto isn't mine. And I feel like I've forgotten to say something... Something important...**

* * *

The Kindling to Curiousity

Chapter Seven

* * *

Minato poked the dying fire with a stick, trying to provoke the simmering embers into roaring life once again. Kakashi sat nearby, idly watching his sensei prodding the stubborn source of warmth. Its crimson light stuck to their faces, tinting everything is touched an almost frightening shade of scarlet. Minato's hair was turned a bright shade of orange, and Kakashi's normally silver hair held a bloody color reminiscent of the one he sported after a particularly messy battle.

"Who is he?" Kakashi's voice cut into the silence and hung over the fire for a while.

Minato glanced at his student, his sapphire eyes in an inky shadow behind his bangs. "Everything I know about him is classified."

Kakashi grunted, unsatisfied with his sensei's answer. Unfortunately, he knew the consequences of revealing certain secrets. He was a Jōnin, after all.

"Hey, I'd have told you about him if I was allowed, but I don't even know how he gained Hokage-sama's trust, where the kid's from, or even if Uzu Arashi's his real name."

"I see." Kakashi's monotone response echoed and ended the short conversation.

* * *

Naruto lay, curled in upon himself, waiting for sleep to overtake his conciseness. Or for the bickering within his head to stop— whichever came first.

Minato— The one in his head, not the one sitting by the fire— was discussing politics with Hiruzen, while Jiraiya and Kushina were having a battle of wits; one that Kushina was clearly going to win. Ryo was off somewhere, annoying the Kyūbi, maybe? It was hard to tell with him.

'_You'd better all shut up soon. I need sleep. Now.' _Naruto received no response what-so-ever. He groaned mentally. It would be a long night…

* * *

_*****Note- in the world **_NARUTO_** came from. *****_

Sakura sat atop the Hokage monument. To be more precise, she sat atop her teammate's head, which was part of the monument.

It was a chilly night, and the pink-haired girl's breath swirled in front of her, like a wispy dragon from childhood tales of long ago. The stars above her shone in brilliant relief, twinkling in a still dance. There was no moon tonight, nothing to overpower the simple beauty of the constellations.

More and more over the past years, Sakura had found herself looking to the stars, as if they could provide her with a satisfactory explanation as to where Naruto had disappeared to. But they continued shimmering cheekily, knowing but never telling the answers to every question she'd ever asked them.

* * *

Konohamaru lay on the roof of his house, unmoving except for the slight raising and lowering of his chest and the blinking of his eyes. The stars were, in his opinion, just as unmoving, a solid anchor to reality and a gateway to myth.

Konohamaru chuckled at himself. _'Since when am I, of all people, philosophical?'_

They boy's eyes darted about now, searching for the constellations that he knew were there. _'The sky has changed since he left._'

And indeed, it had, in a way. Maybe not in a physical way, but now the stars held a nostalgic sadness.

The scarf-wearing boy remembered how Naruto would lay up on the academy roof with him and point out constellations that he'd read about. It didn't matter if something like an early meeting or an overt operation was happening tomorrow, there was always at least two times a week that Naruto was there with Konohamaru, smiling and talking without a care.

The boy sighed and sat up. He did have a mission tomorrow, after all.

* * *

_*****Note- Back with **_NARUTO._** Next morning. *****_

They'd set off about two hours ago, and had been running non-stop since. Minato raised his hand, the signal to stop.

Once they'd all stopped and crowded around him, Minato pulled out a crude map. He outlined a path with his finger to where a blue circle was marked.

"We'll continue together for five more miles, then we split. Understood?"

Then they set off again, blurs in the forest, the reluctant Chūnin hanging behind and the bored Jōnin setting the pace.

Minato furrowed his brow. Something was wrong… _'Enemies? Shit!' _He stopped. The team behind him stopped, too. Minato knelt down and placed a finger to the forest floor. _'Three… Four… Eight! They've all got the same chakra, though… Clones!'_ Straightening, he said, "There are eight enemies— only one is real, the rest are clones. There are five of us. They're in a circular formation. Rin, Obito, stay close to each other…"

He'd been going to say more, but a barrage of kunai and shuiruken had cut his orders off.

"Scatter!"

And Naruto's first fight in the past began.

* * *

"_You also can't use my Rasengan, or my Ha-"_

'_I get the point! All of my good jutsus are gone! Thanks for rubbing it in, Dad!'_

"_You can still use your kage-bunshin, you know…"_

'_Thanks for telling me that. It's not going to help much here…"_

"_If you're at a Kage-level, in theory, you shouldn't even have to use a jutsu to knock these guys out. Good old taijutsu should be enough, no? And they're clones, no? If you don't get the real one, you should only need taijutsu... Unless I've missed something?"_

'_Ryu, you're my new favorite person. You're coming out next. In fact, wanna get the rumors spreading?' _

"_It would be my honor…" _

There was a slightly crazy look on Naruto's face, and his eyes closed, only to open and reveal perhaps the most legendary of all the bloodlines, the Rinnengan.

A moment later, a slightly maniacal laugh resounded through the forest.

* * *

"Oh, I'm lucky, lucky, lucky! I get the real ninja!" Arashi's eyes were large, and he was smiling. His voice was scratchy, and he had not a scratch on him.

"Uzu-san, that's enough."

Arashi froze. "You want him? Fine. I don't like killing very much…"

Minato froze. This wasn't Uzu Arashi. This man might look just like him, but their personalities were very different.

"Are we meeting back at the clearing?"

"Yes. Meet the others there, and please refrain from killing anything."

"Yes sir." Arashi turned and took off into the forest, headed towards the clearing.

'_Were his eyes… purple?'_

* * *

'_What the heck was that? You've never done that before!'_

"_Oh, I wasn't that bad. Compared to what I used to do, that was nothing!"_

'…_I'm not going to ask…'_

"_Hey, cut me some slack! I sealed that Jūbi into me, and I technically killed myself, I started your shinobi arts, and I tried to bring peace to the world. You can't expect a man to be sane after all that, can you? I haven't really been free in a while. It was very invigorating."_

'…_Just shut up…'_

**And that's the super short update. Sorry. I got lost on the road of life... **

**Oh! I remembered what it was that I needed to say something about! I've got a horrible sense of distance. If any lenghths I use seem unrealistic, say something!**


	8. Eyes

**Oh my god, I actually updated! Joy! And I've got over one hundred reviews. I'll have to do something for you guys... Well this chapter's extra long... What do you guys want?**

**Sorry this update took so long... I'm super stressed about an upcoming band competition. It's the first time I've been in a competition, and I have a solo that requires me to switch instuments- tener sax to flute. Not fun.**

**Anyways, thanks for 100+ reveiws and god knows how many alerts, favs and the like I've received. You guys make my day!**

**Disclaimer- Good god, must I state the obvious? I don't own Naruto, but this story's plot is all mine!**

* * *

Eyes

Chapter Eight

* * *

Minato and Arashi sped along, each engrossed in their own thoughts.

Since they'd split with Kakashi and the two Chūnin, their rate of progression had been much faster. Minato estimated only another half an hour before they reached the battle front.

It was time to see if Arashi was really trustworthy.

* * *

Naruto was absorbed in his thoughts, so much so that he wasn't exactly sure how much longer until they got to the front. So, it came as no surprise that he was slightly surprised when the two of them arrived at the battle scene.

It was, all things considered, in very bad disarray. Konoha shinobi corpses littered the ground. There were only a few left alive; twelve at most. The Iwa troops were counting in to the hundreds.

Naruto cringed at the sight of the battlefield. Sure, he'd been in war before, but this war was being fought differently than the war he was in. This was a stand-in-line-and-throw-kunai battle, not the battle groups he was used to. He'd have to adjust; quickly, too, by the looks of it.

"Don't do whatever you did before, got that? I'll take care of everyone, you're just here to catch the stragglers. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. It won't happen." Arashi saluted. "Where do you want me positioned, sir?

"See if you can't get behind them. But be careful— I don't want any more Konoha casualties."

"Yes, sir!"

"You, over there!" Minato called out to the remaining shinobi. "You're going to be throwing these kunai at the enemy," he held up a handful of oddly-shaped kunai, "You don't really have to do anything else. Wait for my signal. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Scatter!" The man ordered. The troops quickly moved to almost even intervals along the trench, waiting for the Jōnin to give the signal. Arashi had disappeared, hopefully making his way to the back of the troops, as ordered.

* * *

Arashi sighed. He was hidden carefully in one of the large rock formations of this side of the battlefield. He had thirty shadow clones all spread out, waiting for the cue. He hoped it would be soon.

Thirty seconds later, there was a yellow flash.

'_It's begun.'_

* * *

Kakashi was struggling. Rin was unconscious, Obito was tired, and he was blind in his left eye. This was not going well.

The silver haired boy internally cursed the fact that the two older- if not more experienced, even if Uzu-san had only been promoted recently, too- were caught up on the front lines. He channeled chakra into the kunai multiple times, but so far Minato-sensei hadn't shown up. They'd just have to stick it out.

Kakashi glared at the enemy shinobi and silently prayed to whatever deity there was that all three of them would make it out of this alive.

* * *

"_Naruto, if I'm correct, because you could use my Haraishin in the future, if you can get a hold of one of the kunai, you should be able to get to where the team is."_

'_How? It'll be noticed as soon as it's used.'_

"_Just trust me. I did create it. I know all the ins and outs of it. If you time it right as… I'm, I guess… using it, it won't be noticed. Just make sure that the team doesn't see you."_

Naruto didn't bother to answer. Instead, he hurried to get an elusive kunai—

Without being noticed, of course. Which was way easier said than done.

* * *

"Kakashi! Look out!" Obito ran at Kakashi, who was about to be crushed by a giant boulder falling from the collapsing ceiling. Unfortunately, this distracted Kakashi, who turned to look at Obito. Obito jumped at Kakashi, intent on getting his team mate out of the boulder's way.

He was knocked unconscious by a rock to the side of his head before he could get there.

Kakashi watched, horror struck, as Obito was knocked to the side by a large rock. Then, he too was knocked out, only before he was totally gone, he saw a yellow flash.

'_Minato-sensei?...'_

* * *

Naruto grimaced as he saw the state that the team was in. Kakashi's left eye had a wound running down and through his left eye, Rin's chakra was running low, and Obito had some sort of wound on the left side of his head.

He gathered the three into his arms and quickly used a shunshin to get out of the collapsing cave.

"Ha!" Naruto heard one of the enemies talking, "They're so dead! These guys were just too damn easy!"

"But Kakkō, you saw that flash! The Yellow Flash is here!"

"It's just your imagination! He's fighting an army right now!"

Naruto decided that it was time to kill these guys. He took some kunai, two in each hand. He quickly scoped the area, spotting twelve Iwa shinobi. _'Low Chūnin to mid Jōnin. Well, I was getting bored…'_

With that, he quickly made his way to a branch above the group. He kept his chakra hidden and masked. While he might have been Hokage, this was also twelve-on-one and he couldn't use his best techniques. Naruto let out a silent breath. _'Here goes nothing…'_

For once, none of the entities in his head were quiet.

He jumped down from the branch, right into the middle of the group. For a split second, said group was surprised. Then they moved.

Of course, a split second is enough for a Hokage to do anything, really. Two shinobi were down, kunai in their chest.

Their comrades finally moved, jumping at the blonde. A few had kunai and shuriken in their hands, but most were empty handed.

Just before they were on him, Naruto used shunshin to get out, and four more were down, stabbed in the heart. Four more, shuriken in their heads. Two left.

They were easy kills, even if they were Jōnin. One had a kunai in his head, the other one a kunai in the base of his neck.

Naruto yawned. _'Well, that was boring. I was expecting more of a fight.'_

"_Naruto, you're a Kage-level fighter, and Iwa shinobi are known for their 'quantity over quality' forces."_

'_True.'_

A quick shunshin brought Naruto to the still-unconscious teens. His thoughts grew grim when he saw the two boy's injuries.

Obito's head was bloody, and there was blood collecting in the corner of his closed left eye.

'_I saved his life, but I don't think I saved his eye…'_

"_You tried." _Minato reassured his son.

"_It could've been worse, ya know." _

"_Ryo, just be quiet."_

"_Fine, meanie…"_

"_You act like a two-year-old." _Jiraiya told the black-haired man.

That was when Naruto tuned out, favoring cleaning and bandaging the team's wounds to listening to the arguing in his head.

Almost as an afterthought, he pulled the Haraishin kunai out of Kakashi's weapon pouch. He held the kunai for a minute, reminiscing. _'It feels good to have this back in my hand. Too bad I can't keep it…'_

Still holding the kunai, he lifted up Kakashi, jumped of the branch, and set him down on the ground beneath. He put the kunai next to him, then quickly got the other two down. Only a few minutes later, Minato arrived, via Haraishin.

"How'd you get here?"

"I think it's a better idea to concentrate on getting these guys out of danger, don't you?"

Minato grunted, but complied, lifting up Kakashi and Obito. Naruto grabbed Rin. Then, without a sound, the two were gone.

* * *

Obito groaned. His head was killing him!

"Obito, take it easy."

'_That's Rin! She's okay, good! But… what happened?' _Obito slowly opened his eyes. Something was… off.

"You okay, Obito?" Rin asked, concerned.

It _sounded_ like the girl was right next to him, but he couldn't see her. He raised a hand to the side of his head, to see if there were bandages covering his eye. There were bandages… but they weren't covering his eye. "What's going on?" He was slightly panicked.

"Obito, calm down," That was Minato-sensei! "Don't panic."

Obito blinked as his sensei leaned into his line of sight. "Where's Kakashi and Uzu-san?"

"I'm behind you, Obito-san, and Kakashi-san is still unconscious."

"Oh." Memories of the cave collapsing filled his head. "Is he okay? He didn't get crushed, did he?"

"No, he's fine, except that he lost the use of his left eye." Rin answered. "But, Obito," She took a deep breath. "Have you noticed yet?"

"Noticed what?"

"Can you see my hand? Can you even see me?"

"No, why?" He started to sit up, but his left hand didn't make it underneath him, and he crashed to the ground. "What the hell!"

"Obito, a rock hit the side of your head." Rin told him.

"And?" He asked, trying to sit up again, this time cautiously finding solid ground for his hand to use.

"It hit in just the right spot… The right spot to wreck the nerves and everything else."

"Get to the point, please, Rin." Obito was now sitting up, observing his surroundings. He eventually turned to look at Rin. She had a melancholy look on her face. "Rin, who died?"

Said girl blinked, then laughed. It was a short, barking laugh, that ended up broken by sobbing. "Obito, you've lost all sight in your left eye!" She was crying in full now.

'_No… I couldn't of!' _His hands flew to his left eye, and he was horrified to find that the girl spoke the truth. "No! This… this is just a bad joke, right." He said. It was a statement, not a question. "Just a god damned bad joke! I just got my Sharingan! I couldn't have lost it so soon!"

"Obito, I'm afraid this isn't a joke! The damage done is irreversible!" Rin cried.

"N-no!" He was desperately trying to get his eye to respond, pressing his hands against the side of his face.

"Obito, calm down. Panicking is not going to help."

It wouldn't have mattered how many times Minato said that. Obito was in full panic mode.

"No! _NO! _This isn't happening! This isn't real!" He broke down into sobs.

* * *

Kakashi groaned. Obito was being so noisy. _'What's wrong now?'_

"Shuddap!" he snapped.

He order went almost unnoticed.

"Obito's in crisis right now, Kakashi-san. Let him get this out."

"What? What's he got to have a crisis about?"

"He's lost all use of his left eye. The eye remains undamaged while all the nerves and things are permanently damaged; not repairable, says Rin. Poor guy, just go his Sharingan, too…"

Kakashi took a moment to process this information. _'Obito's blind in one eye, just like me, now…'_

"His condition differs from yours because your eye is destroyed, and a skilled medic-nin could replace the eye and connect the nerves and things and you'd be able to use the eye like normal…"

They soon noticed that Obito had quieted down, and was listening to their conversation.

"Rin, is that true, what Uzu-san said? That Kakashi could regain his sight if he got a new eye, but mine will be forever useless?"

"Yes… That's true…" She said, doubtfully. "Why?"

"Rin, are you skilled enough to do that procedure?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Could you transplant my eye to Kakashi?"

"I… I might be able to… But it'd be risky. It'd use up a lot of his chakra, to, because you probably haven't noticed yet, but your Sharingan was still active when the rock hit, and your Sharingan is still activated. He'd still have to keep the eye covered… But I might be able to do it… But wouldn't it be better if we waited until we got back to the village?"

"I noticed. It stopped draining my chakra when I covered my eye, though… So, right now, I have one eye with Sharingan active, the other it's inactive right now, right?"

"Yeah…" Rin said.

"Minato-sensei, could I do that? With my eye?"

"I suppose you could. Can't guarantee that your clan will be too happy about it, though. And Rin's right. If we went through with this- we'd still need Kakashi's permission, by the way- it'd be better if we were at the village. We're very vulnerable right now. We've got three injured team mates, and I'm starting to run low on chakra."

"The thing is, if we wait until we get back to the village, the clan will make me give it to a blinded Uchiha. We wouldn't get a chance."

"True…" They all looked at Kakashi. "What do you think, Kakashi?"

'_What do I think? Obito'd be willing to do that for me? Give that up, just so I can see?'_

"Kakashi…" Obito started. "Think of it as a belated gift- for reaching Jōnin. Besides, I don't want some idiot in my clan who I don't even know to get it. I'd rather give it to someone who I know I can trust it with."

"I…" Kakahsi gulped. "I… Thank you, Obito."

Rin sighed. "Let's get started, then… This shouldn't take too insanely long."

* * *

**Yup! That's that chapter. I tried to give the whole "Obito dies and Kakashi get's a Sharingan" think a twist. I was asked to save Obito. I hope he isn't too out of character here. In fact, I hope no one's too out of character. But I have the feeling that someone (Namely Naruto) will be slightly, if not alot, out of character.**

**On another note- I have the whole rest of the story planned out! Yay! That means that this story has no chance what so ever of being forgotten. I'm not sure, but there'll probably be a sequal, or a part two and maybe a part three. This story, because of the way it's going, is very likey to have a very open ending. In fact, I can almost garantee it. If it didn't, it'd end up going on and on forever.**

**Also, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and the Sage will be explained. And eventually, Kyūbi will make it's return. Ryo's just keeping it quiet for now.**

**You should all thank **Aeo15 **for getting me motivated to finish this chapter.**

**Once again, I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well.**

**Thanks for 100+ reviews, and tell me what I can do to thank you!**


	9. Mindscapes

**Sorry, sorry, ya see... I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses, but I'll tell you them anyways. Urm... School's after my hide, I can't write persuasive essays, and I'm trying to sneak into a concert. So... Yeah.**

**On another note! I got an anonymous review. It was signed **g**. I will not post the review here, for I believe the review in itself should be rated M, but I will respond.**

_**First of all, why are you on fanfiction if you're comparing this work to the original? I am obviously not Kishimoto. I think I should also mention that this is my first multi-chaptered fic, therefore it will be crummy. Now, as to address the plot issue  
I stated a chapter or two (or three) ago that it would be long. I drag things out. I haven't gotten deep into the plot yet. Remember how long it took for Naruto to get to where it is? Yeah, it takes awhile.  
Next, no, not everyone fell in love with the person they loved first. Sakura was disgusted by Lee for quite a while. Hinata never showed any romantic feelings toward Kiba, and Shino is not married to anyone within the Konoha 11. Ino was always annoyed by Chouji. Shikamaru and Temari were the only pairing that was even ever hinted at in the manga/anime.  
Next point is; you are the first person in over 23k people to complain about my story. And why should I delete it? It's not hurting you! There is a lot of crap on this site, you know, so if you are so upset by it, just don't come. Also, you reviewed on the first chapter, leading me to believe that you only read the first chapter. How can you decide if a story has a plot from the first chapter?  
Finally, if you are going to flame me, sign it. Don't be a coward. When you don't sign a review, be it good or bad, it gets responded to here, at the top of my story, where everyone can see it. You are only humilitating yourself. **_

_**And by the way, using big middleschool words and curses does not make you smart. Or make people take you more seriously. I think you had more curse words in that review than I've had in this whole story.**_

**I do not own Naruto.**

**_World 1 refers to the world Naruto came from._**

**_World 2 refers to the world where Naruto traveled back to._**

**

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Mindscapes

Chapter Nine

* * *

Arashi shifted under the Hokage's stare

"How did you get from the battlefield to where Obito, Kakashi and Rin were so quickly?" Hard, dark eyes met shifty, endless blue ones.

"I… er... you see… um…" Arashi was stuttering, looking for an excuse somewhere in his head. Or, more likely, from the people inside his head.

"Rin, Obito, Kakashi. I want you three to head to the hospital. While I don't doubt Rin-chan's medical skills, better safe than sorry, ne? And Rin, I'll send a Yamanaka for you, to make sure your captors didn't plant anything in the genjutsu and that you're fully released from its effects."

The three youngest cringed at 'captors'. Rin nodded, quickly, though, recognizing the dismissal. "Thank you for your confidence and the… help. We will leave now."

With a quick bow, the three left, shutting the large, heavy doors behind him.

Hiruzen motioned for an ANBU. "Bring me Jiraiya and Inoichi. Now."

'_Let the chaos begin,'_ the Hokage thought, watching as Arashi stared at something only he could see, and as Minato stood diligently at attention, watching Arashi out of the corner of his eye.

Approximately five minutes later, Inoichi coolly walked in, eyeing Arashi with something akin to a strange sort of curiosity, one where you are so afraid of something you just have to know about it.

Then Jiraiya came bursting in through the open window. "Darn it, Sensei! Never send a female ANBU after me! Their hits hurt more!" He was whimpering, hoping to gain some misplaced pity.

The old Sarutobi knew, though, that his student was acting. He raised an eyebrow. "All the better to get you here quicker, boy. Now, onto business. Inoichi, report your findings on Arashi-san's mental state."

Inoichi left a beat of rest before he started his report. He had needed a second to get his thoughts in order.

"From my mental evaluation, I have found evidence that the man known as Uzu Arashi has a ninety-eight percent chance of having multiple personalities. The other two percent is that he has just a very complex mental trap. I did not have enough chakra to continue my search. I did find something interesting. The first mental trap I encountered after I made it to Uzu-san's mindscape."

Minato held up a hand. "Explain this to me. I'm not well versed in this whole thing. What's so interesting about a mental trap?"

"I was getting there. You see, the thing with mental traps is, is that you can't have a trap, jutsu, anything, unless you can perform it in real life. This rule only applies to the mindscape, but if one has more than one personality, the techniques can vary to each 'scape'."

"So I'm personality A, and you're personality B, then my mindscape can be protected by Fūinjustu while you can use clan techniques?" Jiraiya asked, trying to clarify the explanation for himself.

"Eh, pretty much. Back to my report. The mental trap I encountered was one that caught me off-guard. Minato, I think you'll be more interested in this more than us. Remember what I just explained to you."

"Get to the point already, Inoichi." Minato snapped.

"Fine, fine. Anyways, the trap used Haraishin."

You could almost hear their necks snap as Minato and Jiraiya turned to Arashi.

Said man blinked the cloud out of his eyes. "What're you all staring at me for?"

Only Minato noticed the slight smirked as he said it.

_'That kid's planning something. What, though?'_

_

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_

_*******World 1******_

Kakashi stared out the window at the cloudy sky outside. It was appropriate, he believed, for it to rain on the anniversary of Naruto's death. Even Mother Nature missed the second blonde Hokage.

"Kakashi-sensei, if you don't get back to work, you'll have so much paper work you'll never be able to catch up, no matter how many shadow clones you make." Sakura scolded the man.

"But Sakura-chan, I'm the Hokage! Why should I be stuck behind a desk doing paperwork? I should be outside training so I can protect the village!"

"In case you haven't noticed, baka-sensei, it's raining cats and dogs out there. It wouldn't due for the Hokage to catch a cold. While you might have a good immune system, even Kazekage-sama would catch a cold out there."

"Kazekage-kun catches a cold if it's less than forty degrees."

"You should be more respectful." Sakura dodged the topic.

"So should you. Naruto should've, too. But we're not. Besides, Gaara-kun hates it when I call him Kazekage-dono. He says it makes him feel like his dad. I know how that feels. So I call him Kazekage-kun instead."

Sakura had tensed at the mention of Naruto. "Whatever. Just get back to work. The sooner you finish, the sooner you leave. I have clinic duty tonight, and I can't be exhausted chasing after you."

"Maa, maa, don't be so worried. I learned my lesson last time I tried to run." It was true. Kakashi still hurt from that kick. He absently wondered if he'd still be able to bare kids. He didn't fully believe Tsunade when she had that devilish smirk on her face. Oh well, he'd figure that out when he had a wife.

When? More like if…

Oh well. Kakashi had a certain stone to visit, and not wanting to risk kids anymore, he lazily made a hand sign and three clones popped into existence, ready and not so willing to do the mounds of paperwork before them.

* * *

Gaara missed Naruto. Everyone who was close to him knew it. Temari had informed him of his old friend's apparent demise. She had been in Leaf when it was attacked by Sasuke.

And so, in honor of the brightly-colored blonde, Gaara wore black. But not just black. Tied around his neck, were it wasn't so distracting, was a bright orange ribbon.

It was a tradition Temari inadvertently started. The day after the news of Naruto's death was confirmed, she had spotted a bright orange ribbon in the window of a sewing store. A store she really hadn't wanted to go in. That she'd never would've gone in, had it not been for that one orange ribbon.

Soon after Gaara had been presented the ribbon, the entire village knew why their Kazekage wore it. So they wore it, too, because everyone there knew of the Rukodaime Hokage and how he had helped save Gaara.

Said boy fiddled with the ribbon.

'_I hope that that knucklehead is happy, wherever he is…'_

* * *

_*******World 2******_

Rin watched nervously as the elder medic examined her team mates. The man was well known and highly respected, making her especially nervous.

"Well," the aging man started, "This is beautiful work, especially for it being done on the field. I can't find anything wrong with how it was done. I wish we had more medic nin like you, so many less painful deaths from infection."

Rin blushed under the praise. "Thank you, sir, I tried my best."

"Now, I think I will put them on some antibiotics, just to be safe, but other than that, they should only need rest. I recommend two months off active duty. Tell your sensei."

Rin nodded. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Now, off to see a Yamanaka about a genjustu.

* * *

**It's utterly and extremely short. I have re-written it three times. I wanted to get it out on Monday. I am sorry.**

**There was something I wanted to say... But I forgot... So I can't say it. Oh well. **

**Oh, something I wanted to say. Not what is above, but something else. I would be honored if someone would take the time to make some sort of fanart. I really woul be. I've tried to draw the characters, but I'm too lazy to upload them to DeviantArt.**

**Reviews are appreciated, flames are given to my pyromaniac brother, and flamers (Like above) are publicly humiliated.**


	10. Author's Note

Dear Readers,

I have been, I know, very bad to you. I haven't updated since March! And you've all hear the excuse, "Life gets in the way," and that, for me, is exactly what happened. On top of that, I got myself stuck.

Because of this, I have been debating between a few choices. Should I take this story down? Should I leave it up and put it on hiatus?

Both options have their pros and cons. If I am to take this story down, I may or may not get back to it. But, if I do get back to it, I will very likely have edited it a thousand times over, on top of actually knowing how I'm going to get to the end.  
On the other hand, if I leave it up in hiatus, it will still hang around, but it will be a hanging story, where you get to a point and then have to make up the ending on your own. But, there is a better chance of me coming back to it, but I can't say the chapters will be edited.

I understand if you are annoyed with me. I personally hate when an author does this—putting a note in place of an actual chapter. But, I feel it impossible to get this out to all my readers without doing this.

There will be, within the hour, a poll up on my profile. It will ask you to vote between taking the story down and putting the story on hiatus. Please vote. It will be up until November third or fourth, depending on when I get on here and when I remember.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement.

Yours, humbly,

D~F

P.S. Please remember, this story is _**not**_ up for adoption.


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